Now that Limitless director Neil Burger has taken over Uncharted, the adaptation of Sony’s popular treasure hunting videogame franchise, we all have questions to ask. Is he going to be keeping any of previous director David O. Russell’s work? Will he listen to the internet fervor to cast Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake? And what makes Uncharted different from Indiana Jones or National Treasure? In our interview with the director for this week’s DVD/Blu-Ray release of Limitless (look for it tomorrow), he had this to say:
CRAVE Online: Are you going to be keeping a lot of David O. Russell’s work…?
Neil Burger: No, I haven’t seen his screenplay on it. Mainly we’re beginning from scratch and going back to the videogame. Because there’s a lot of cool stuff, actually, from the videogame, if you know it…
CRAVE Online: Yeah, I’ve played them all.
Neil Burger: It’s really one of the most cinematic videogames, and one that has really developed characters. So, you know, there’s a lot of cool, really intense things that, if they work for the film’s story, I want to use them.
CRAVE Online: What differentiates Uncharted from similar film franchises like Indiana Jones or National Treasure?
Neil Burger: Well, I think Indiana Jones is, you know, fantastic. The grandfather of all those movies. But I think Indiana Jones is nostalgic. It takes place in the 1930s, and the later ones are a little bit later, and it kind of plays on that nostalgia. Whereas Uncharted is very much up to the minute, of the moment. It’s very “now” and contemporary and it has this sort of rough and very intense feel that a movie like The Bourne Identity has. It’s really up to date in its own way. The Bourne Identity isn’t your father’s Cold War movie and this is a very different kind of treasure hunt movie. It’s very real and it has kind of an insane, wild feeling that comes out of the character; Nate being this con man and a bit of a hustler, living by his wits,ballsy and capable of anything.
CRAVE Online: Are you aware of the internet campaign to get Nathan Fillion to star in the movie?
Neil Burger: I’ve seen a little bit of that, yes. That was brought to my attention. So, you know, I think he’s a good actor. I think there’s a lot of really good actors who don’t even look like [Nathan Drake] who could play it! Where we are right now is that we’re literally starting from scratch on the screenplay, and I think that once we finish it, then we’ll go to actors and see who’s available and who’s right for the parts. Whenever that happens.
Look for the rest of our interview tomorrow!
